Out of Gas
by Spike868
Summary: Firefly X Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spike jumpes into the portal at the end of BTVS season 5 and ends up on Serenity. Mal is sucked into the portal on the other end and finds himself in Sunnydale. All hell breaks loose.
1. Chapter 1

_BTVS Xover with Firefly - BTVS season 5, Firefly season 1 (Out of Gas) ... Spike jumps into the portal and is transported into OUT OF GAS's Serenity ship with no air, after Mal has been shot. Mal is transferred to Sunnydale and is found by _

_Willow/Buffy/Xander/Giles/Anya/Tara_

OUT OF GAS

_Sunnydale, California_…

Spike turned to Buffy and Dawn. "I have to do this." He told them.

"Spike, no you don't. Summers' blood is the only thing that will close the portal. It has to be one of us." Dawn explained.

"Pet, blood is the only thing that matters. But it's not just your blood; it's anyone's. It's _everyone's_. Blood is quite obviously a vital part of my life, being a vampire and all. That means _I_ have to do this and _you_ have to let me. Just stand back."

Dawn stepped up to Spike as he turned his back and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't." She begged, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks.

"Pet, let me do this. Always remember that I love you and that I love Buffy." Spike said without turning around. He knew if he looked back one more time he couldn't do it; he couldn't leave the woman he loved and the girl he lived to protect behind. But he had to, so he took a step back as Buffy pulled Dawn away from him.

"Dawn, there's no stopping him." Buffy whispered as Dawn gaped in horror at the swirling portal before her. Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat and fought to hold back tears.

Spike took a run-up and leapt into the portal, his eyes clenching tightly shut at the last second. _God, why was he doing this_? Dawn spun around and began uncontrollably crying into Buffy's shoulder. Buffy was lost for words. She couldn't comfort her sister because she couldn't move. Spike had just died for her. He'd just died for Dawn.

In the portal, Spike felt himself burning. He felt an intense heat and felt as if he would fall to dust in seconds, but then it all stopped. He looked around and there was nothing but white. Nothing but bright, bright white everywhere. He was still falling; he could feel himself falling. He was just… nowhere. Then it all disappeared and everything went black.

_Serenity_…

Mal had ordered the men to leave _Serenity_, taking from them the part he needed to fix his ship. But could he make it to the engine room? Could he get there in time to save his precious ship? He didn't have a chance to move, as he felt an intense heat around him. With the lowering air supply that couldn't be good for him or his ship.

A swirling blue and white vortex appeared before him, screaming and whirring so loudly that he had to cover his ears, struggling to stand after his injury. The gunshot wound to his stomach was still bleeding terribly, with his quivering hand hovering above his shirt.

As he looked into the swirling mix he tried to figure out what it was. He didn't know of portals existing at all, besides in old stories his folks used to tell him as a child. He was damn sure that's what he was looking at, but didn't know where it led or why the hell it was on his ship.

Suddenly, all his thoughts and questions were disregarded as the portal grew and swallowed him inside. He screamed, crying out in pain as the heat was unbearable.

Strange, he could hear another scream other than his own. He hadn't realised that his eyes were clenched tightly shut, so he opened them. It was just in time to see a man shoot past him down the tunnel towards _Serenity_. The blonde hair wasn't what caught his eye; it was the black clothing against the white vortex. The man must have seen him too, because at the split second they passed each other his eyes were wide with fear. Mal could tell. The man must have seen the same fear in Mal's eyes too, because it explained how he felt.

Suddenly there was nothing to feel; the heat was just gone. There was nothing to see except a vast white… everywhere. He was alone, injured and still falling through a tunnel to only God-knows-where. Then it all went black.

---

Back on _Serenity_, Spike felt himself being projected out of the portal, and hitting something hard. He saw only for a split second a lot of grey and metal before he was knocked out.

He woke to find himself lying on a metal floor. He opened his eyes and looked up to find himself inside a large hangar-type structure. He was lying on his back, staring up at the large empty room wondering where the hell he had been thrown after jumping into the portal. He remembered what had happened, dying for Buffy and Dawn. He loved Buffy, but never had a real chance to show it until now, until he gave up everything for her.

Spike painfully got to his feet and investigated his surroundings, not knowing about the lowered air supply on the ship. He didn't even know that he was _on_ a ship, so went exploring to determine exactly where he was.

Mal's crew soon returned to help fix the ship, but in that time Mal was in another place and in much worse shape and a lot of pain.

_Sunnydale, California_…

Mal was dropped out of the portal about three metres above the ground and was abruptly stopped as he landed on debris from a fallen building. He screamed out in pain for only a second before he was found by Buffy and her friends after their fight against Glory.

Buffy, Giles, Dawn, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya gathered around to see who was lying on the rubble. It wasn't Spike, so where did he go? More importantly, who was this man?

Mal looked up at the people staring at him, and tried to get up. "What the gorram…?" he began, still struggling and trying to wriggle away from the strangers towering above him. "Who are you…?" he breathed before passing out.

"Who's he?" Buffy asked after a suited silence, perplexed. The man lay motionless, a perfectly still body dressed in reasonably old-fashioned-looking clothes. And tight pants.

A/N: I had a strange idea and decided to give it a try. I've got another BTVS season 5/Firefly crossover idea, but we'll see if anything comes of that. Reviews on this one please? Maybe I'll update if people are interested…


	2. Chapter 2

_Sunnydale, California…_

Mal woke to find that he'd been moved from his previous location, wherever the hell that was. He looked around to find himself inside some strange-looking shop… of some sort. He was slouched in a surprisingly comfortable chair, considering he didn't know where he was. Somebody here was trying to take care of him.

He got out of the chair and took a step, suddenly doubling over in pain. He'd forgotten about his injury. Why hadn't those people he saw taken him to a doctor? Were there ever hospitals where he was? Would he be able to find a doctor? He looked down to discover a bandage around his stomach, covering the wound. They'd helped him. Whoever those people were, they had helped him.

Looking around, Mal picked up random objects from on the shelves and peered at them from different angles. Strange objects in jars, shrunken heads and ornamental pieces were everywhere… what the hell _was_ this place?

"Where do you think he's from?" Mal heard people talking outside and his head jerked in the direction they were coming from. He watched as the door to the shop opened and heard a bell ringing.

"I don't know. Hopefully he'll wake up soon and we can ask him. He didn't look to be in good shape, he had that horrible wound on his stomach." Mal looked across the room at the half a dozen people who had just entered.

"Hi." Buffy stopped in her tracks when she saw the man awake and standing beside the counter holding a small round orb in the palm of his hand. "Oh! You don't want to touch that." Buffy ran up to him, causing him to step back in surprise and hold the orb close to his body. He glanced down at it before cautiously reaching out and placing it back where he found it on the counter.

"Buffy." Giles scolded in a whisper. "The man clearly is disoriented, and I don't think you're helping by suddenly running up to him."

"Right." Buffy said as she faced Giles before turning back to look at the strange man before her. "So, um… what's your name?" She asked. Mal stared.

"I… uh…" He stammered, shifting his weight as his eyes darted from one person to the next. They settled on a pretty young girl with red hair. He smiled at the girl, who smiled back uneasily.

"Where are you from?" Willow asked, surprising him. _The redhead spoke to you dumb-ass, answer her!_

"I… don't know. I'm not from here, clearly." His accent stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't talk like a local Sunnydale resident at all. There was also the fact that nobody recognised him or understood why he was dressed so strangely.

"Are you from another period in history?" Giles asked. Mal was a little shocked, and Giles noticed. "I didn't mean it as an insult, I just mean, your clothes are a little bit _different_ to ours."

"What year is it?" Mal inquired.

"2003."

"2003? What the gorram…? How did I end up here?" Mal suddenly became jumpy. He was clearly out of place and the scoobies were beginning to feel unnerved by him.

"When are you from?" Xander asked in his typical goofy wording.

"500 years from now." He replied, shocking everyone. "I… I can't be here. It all starts to change, I know the stories. Everything goes wrong… everything goes very wrong…"

"Well isn't he a picture of good health." Xander commented at the man's ramblings. Mal's head snapped in Xander's direction when he heard those words. He thought of… _River_.

"Is something wrong?" Willow asked.

"River…" Mal whispered before adding, "Am I... am I the only one?"

"Are you the only one what?" Giles asked.

"Am I the only one here? Did anyone else come?" The scoobies stared blankly.

"Where exactly did you come _from_?" Anya asked.

"_Serenity_."

"_Serenity_?" Xander repeated.

"My ship. I captain a ship." Mal informed them.

"That explains the tight pants then…" Anya murmured. She didn't think anyone had heard her, and they hadn't.

"So you captain a ship called _Serenity_ 500 years from now?" Giles compiled the information together.

"Yes. How the hell did I get here?" he looked around. "Where _is_ here? Am I in some sort of… shop or something? What is this place?"

"A magic shop." Anya informed him. "We run a magic shop. Do you like it?" She smiled happily.

"I… uh… magic?" He received looks of confusion. "What on earth is going on here?"

"You tell us." Buffy answered, realising that she should ask the man if he knew what happened to Spike. "Where's Spike? Did you have something to do with why his body is gone and yours is here? Where did he go?"

"Spike?" Mal questioned. "Who the hell is Spike?"

"He's a vampire." Dawn piped up, not having said a word since laying eyes on the man awake in the shop. "He jumped into the portal to save us, and you are all that's left. Where did he go?" She repeated Buffy's question from moments before in a more stern tone of voice.

"Hey, now don't go blaming the disappearance of your friend on me. I don't know where this Spike character you speak of is, all right? I was on my ship when that swirling thingy appeared in front of me and sucked me in." He paused. "Hang on, is Spike the guy I saw flying past me in that thing?"

"Blonde hair? Black outfit?" Xander described the vampire in two phrases.

"Yeah. That's him. Flew right past me when I opened my eyes. I don't know how I survived it, but he probably ain't doing much better. And if he don't know my world then he's gonna find himself in some trouble."

"What sort of trouble?" Dawn stepped forward, demanding to know.

"Let's just saw my world ain't as _pretty_ as yours." Mal said. "Ain't as _nice_. Your friend is probably feeling the same as me right this very second; a little lost and a lot alone. There's nobody there for him to talk to."

"What do you mean? Buffy asked. "Are you the only one left?" She was confused, and Mal spat out a laugh in response. "Is that what you meant earlier?"

"No darlin', I just mean that there ain't no-one left on my ship for him to find. My crew's gone, I sent 'em away right when my ship broke."

"Wait a second, _broke_?" Giles asked. It was clear that the man wasn't a straight-A English language student, but Giles still knew that "broke" meant bad.

"Yeah. Got a part to fix it too, but that's back on the ship. Another thing your friend might be in trouble with, plus the air supply was so low I nearly passed out in there. _Serenity_ ain't gonna be flying for much longer and your friend ain't gonna be living much longer."

"Flying?" Buffy asked. "I thought you said _Serenity_ was a ship?"

"That she is, and a fine spacecraft too. Don't you be mockin' her now; she's been through a lot and has come out on top every time."

"I thought you meant it was a boat!" Buffy cried. "You know, on water? Something that floats and sails from one place to another. A ship."

"You got the wrong idea darlin', my ship flies and she does it well. Kaylee's kept her runnin' hard for months now, but she just gave it up. Those liúmángstried to steal herbut I showed 'em. They shot me, but I won. Got my ship back, but I didn't get a chance to fix her. I got sucked into that portal right then and there. There's no chance your friend Spike is gonna be able to fix my ship unless he's a damn good mechanic."

"What did you just say?" Buffy asked.

Mal froze for a second, trying to figure out which part she meant. "Your friend ain't gonna be able to fix my ship unless…" Buffy interrupted him.

"No, you said something else… it was in a foreign language."

"_Liúmáng_?" Mal asked.

"Yeah. What is that?" Buffy pressed.

"Chinese." Giles stepped in with the answer. "It means bastard."

"You folk don't all speak Chinese here?" Mal inquired. He received a general head-shake from everyone. "We all do back where I'm from. The Alliance, biggest pains in my ass enforced the regime where everyone speaks English and Chinese."

"Why? And who are the Alliance?" Giles asked.

"The Alliance is an American and Chinese joint government that rules over the universe. Every planet that it can possibly be enforced on, it is."

"What? _Every_ _planet_?" Xander nearly fell over. "You have more than one planet?"

"Yeah. Quite a few actually." Mal replied casually.

"When?" Willow asked. "We have only one, Earth. When did all this change? When did the universe become so different?"

"Hundreds of years before my time." Mal began. "My folks told me the stories of how our universe was created… or at least, how we found it." Open ears and shut mouths welcomed Mal's story. "We couldn't live on the Earth anymore, there were just too many of us. We went in search of a new universe, and found one. We changed the geographical structure and whatnot of all these new planets to make sure that they could sustain life. Took decades, but they did it. Alliance led and Alliance run, the universe was created with a hope to make everyone have equal opportunities. But then came the Independents."

"Who are the Independents?" Tara asked softly, speaking to Mal for the first time. He eyed the shy girl hiding behind the redhead before answering.

"I am one. Or at least, I was." He received shocked looks, even thought none of them knew who the Independents were. "Don't worry, we weren't the bad guys." Mal said quickly, feeling the tension release. "But we did try to stand up against the Alliance."

"Why?" Willow asked.

"They conform people to what they as a government think is right. People don't get a choice, and when they do they're faced with war. The outer planets are the ones that fought back, and because most of them are so far out it's not worth the Alliance bothering to trying to make them do what they want. Those outer planets are dangerous places to live. And then there are places like Serenity Valley, where the Independents on the outer planets went to fight the war against the Alliance."

"You fought in the war?" Giles asked, curious.

"Sure did. Lost too, but I don't much like to dwell on the past. We fought, we lost and we're still fightin' just as strong now today as we did back in that valley."

"Is that Serenity as in the name of your ship?" Willow asked, putting the two places together.

"Yep. Smart one you are darlin', I'm sure you do well in life. Doctor? Teacher? Politician's daughter?"

"Actually, I'm a practising witch." Willow replied, taking Mal by surprise.

"Huh." He stated simply with a huff. "Wouldn't have picked you to practise magic. That's dangerous stuff, if I remember."

"I'm quite in control of what I do." Willow said proudly.

"I'm sure you are." Mal smiled appreciatively. "How's about using that pretty little head of yours to find me a way to get back, huh?"

"Hey!" Tara protested on Willow's behalf. "Don't speak to her so rudely."

"Sorry, but I don't know any of you folk and I'd rather be getting back to fix my ship before she drifts out into space somewhere. Your friend Spike is on my ship. And when it completely breaks that ain't the least of his worries."

"What else is there to worry about where you're from?" Buffy demanded, seeing that there was something he was hiding.

"Reavers." Mal said simply. "Don't wanna cross a boatload of them nasty buggers, they'll eat you alive. No joking."

"You're lying. Why are you lying?" Dawn cried.

"Dawnie…" Willow soothed her.

"Spike is in your world and you're telling us about all this terrible stuff. How can you put up with it?"

"Cause I didn't know there was anywhere else to escape to." Mal snapped. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach and his hand instantly jumped to his wound. He looked down at it before looking back up at the glaring faces. "My world ain't exactly the prettiest of them all but for us there's no way out. We put up with the world the way it was, and fight for the things we believe in. It's all you can do."

"You can try harder." Buffy shot.

"Look miss, I don't know why all of a sudden you're jumping on me about this, but I really ought to be getting back. Can you get me back or not?"

"I don't know." Willow stepped forward before anyone had a chance to protest. "I can try, but we don't know anything about your world, how to find it or how to get Spike back. Can you at least tell us that he's safe on the ship?"

"There's nobody there." Mall repeated his earlier comment. "Your friend Spike is alone on a ship that is slowly dying, with only a limited amount of air left. He's not going to live for long unless you can find a way back there from here."

"Spike doesn't breathe." Anya jumped in. Mal looked at her in shock. "He's a vampire, and vampires don't breathe. The air supply thing is no problem."

"Right." Mal answered. "A vampire… doesn't breathe…"

"You do know what a vampire is, don't you?" Buffy asked, seeming a little hurt seeing as how slaying vampires was pretty much all her life seemed to be besides University.

"Well, I've heard of 'em in stories my folks told me. Things to scare boys and girls at night. Never did believe 'em myself, but then again, the Reavers are much worse."

"What exactly is a Reaver?" Giles inquired.

"Vicious sons of bitches." Mal swore. "Deformed, flesh-eating humans who thrive on destroying other folk. Heard stories of them preying upon a ship's crew until they're down to the last man alive. They'll put that one man through hell and make him into one of them. God, I hope that never happens to me."

"God, I hope that never happens to Spike." Buffy cried. "He's on your ship, alone, and these Reavers are out there to eat him? What kind of world do you live in?"

"I live in the same world and universe as you, just a different time. I tried to warn you, things are gonna be changing soon… for worse, not for better."

"Just give me some time and I might be able to work something out to get you back, and to bring Spike back." Willow announced.

"Thanks." Buffy smiled her way and she began flipping through books on the table, Tara sitting down beside her to help.

"I just hope Spike is all right on your ship…" Dawn paused. "You never did tell us your name."

"Mal. Malcolm Reynolds."

A/N: A little longer than I had planned, but I got a lot into this which was good. Hopefully people like where this is going, and thankyou to those who reviewed already. I live for reviews and love it when people leave them for me. It's one of those things that give you a warm feeling of satisfaction inside… it's nice. Anyway, enough of my blabbing on… reviews please! And next chapter we see what happened to Spike on _Serenity_.


	3. Chapter 3

_Serenity..._

Spike had spent some time wandering around what he had soon worked out to be a ship. It was some sort of large spaceship that he'd been transported to, and made him think that maybe, just maybe, he hadn't died after all. He had jumped to close the portal, and obviously it had worked because whatever world he was in there was no portal anymore meaning he had closed it. _I didn't die in vain_. He thought proudly as he wandered up and down stairs, through metal hallways and oddly-shaped doorframes. It was an interesting ship, he gave it that much. He'd watched those 70's and 80's sci-fi shows and saw the sorts of ships they had. He wasn't some ignorant guy who'd never seen a spaceship before.

He saw a spacious room up ahead and climbed up a small flight of stairs that lead into what he could only guess was the cockpit. Controls, buttons, flashing lights and levers were scattered across a control panel in front of a rather comfy looking black seat. Spike sat down in the seat and leant back, looking down at all the gizmos and gadgets before him.

"Damn, how does anybody fly this thing?" he asked himself out aloud. "So many buttons..."

He looked down to see a flashing light. _Low oxygen levels_.

"What? Low..." he read the flashing display. He pressed the little red button next to the flashing light and the displayed message, only to be screamed at by a voice over. A female voice repeated the same phrase as red lights began whirring round and round in the room he was in, and in the hallway outside.

_Low oxygen levels. Life support failure. Low oxygen levels. Life support failure._

"There's no bloody air?" Spike cried in surprise as he listened to the repeating voice. "Well what the hell am I meant to do now?" He looked around as all the lights on the panel before him flashed on and off. "There's nobody here..." He made the realisation. "If there's no air, then everybody's dead. I'm all that's here..." He looked out the window ahead of him to see a vast nothingness of space. Stars passed him by as the ship slowly cruised further and further away from... anywhere.

Suddenly, Spike saw something. It was small, and it was coming towards the ship. Was it another ship? Is that what he was looking at? As it got closer Spike could see that it was in fact a small aircraft and that there were people inside. Another ship flew in closely after it, and both disappeared beneath the ship.

Spike turned and ran. He knew there was a loading bay of some sort at the back of the ship, because that was where he was when he woke up. Running through the ship, his boots clanged loudly on the metal grates beneath his feet.

The red lights flashed and whirred about his head, the female voice repeating over and over again.

_Low oxygen levels. Life support failure. Low oxygen levels. Life support failure_.

Feeling as though he was lost, Spike stopped to work out where he had run to. He stepped into a room with a strange looking... dentist's chair in the centre. Was it some sort of medical room? Like an on-board doctor's surgery or something? Spike backed out of the room when he saw needle packaging and a broken needle lying on the floor.

He heard noises down the hall as the red lights stopped flashing and the voice-over disappeared, so he followed them. They sounded like engines whirring and humming, but supposedly all power was out to the ship. He finally reached the room where the engines were humming... or at least one of them. A door opened just ahead of him and four people stepped through. They stared at the strange blond-haired man dressed in black with bewildered expressions.

Spike was startled and spun around as another door opened and four more people stepped out and saw him.

"Who on earth...?" Spike began. He backed away, and the two groups of four merged to form a large crowd of staring... space-goers.

"Hello there." Kaylee greeted Spike, trying to work out what was going on. "How did you get on this here ship?"

"I..." Spike began. "I came through a portal."

"A _portal_?" Wash repeated, surprised. Spike stared at the funny-looking man with short spiky hair.

"Where's Mal?" a dark-skinned woman asked him.

"Mal?" Spike asked, confused. _Was Mal a person_?

"Did you do something to Mal?" Kaylee stepped in.

"Wait, I don't know who Mal is."

"Sure you don't." Jayne sneered. Spike was put-off by the large man who stepped forward.

"I believe that he doesn't." Shepherd Book spoke, stopping Jayne with a gentle hand on his arm. "You're not from here, are you?" He said to Spike.

"Where exactly is _here_?" Spike inquired.

"This is _Serenity_." Zoë informed the blond. "Now, who are you?"

"Spike. What is this? A spaceship?"

"Exactly right." Wash spoke again. Spike looked at a girl with tangled brown locks who was hiding behind a young man with darker hair than hers. She was looking at him with heavy eyes, thick with mystery and secrets. Spike could tell that there was something unnatural about her.

"Not of this world..." River whispered as she looked over her brother's shoulder at the blond.

"River?" Simon spun around and held his sister by the shoulders. "River, what is it?"

"Not of this world..." She repeated. Simon looked over at Spike.

"What are you?" He demanded.

"Excuse me?"

"What _are_ you?"

"I'm... a vampire." Spike answered hesitantly.

"You're a what now?" Kaylee asked.

"A vampire." Spike repeated. "You don't know what a vampire is?"

"I know what you are, creature of darkness." Book approached him.

"Hey, whoa, hold on a second." Spike protested. "I'm one of the good guys."

"Vampires cannot be 'good guys', you must know that somewhere inside you." Book continued. "What have you done here vampire? What are you here for?"

"I haven't done anything and I don't know how I got here. I jumped into that portal and next thing I know, I'm here. That guy flew past me before I popped out here; he's probably the guy you're all looking for. If you're lucky, he's back with the people I know. They'll treat him right."

"Mal. You _do_ know where he is!" Jayne cried.

"I said _probably_." Spike emphasised, realising that he'd just talked himself into a bad situation. After the prolonged silence and ceasing of flashing red lights, it all started up again.

_Low oxygen levels. Life support failure. Low oxygen levels. Life support failure_.

"The ship!" Kaylee cried.

"Go down to the cargo bay and see what's down there. Maybe we have something we can use to improvise for the missing part." Zoë suggested.

"It's worth a try. We're here now; we can't just let her die." Kaylee answered, dashing off down a flight of metal stairs.

"Now you," Zoë turned back to Spike. "Tell us _exactly_ where you think Mal is after going through this portal."

"You believe me?" Spike asked, a little shocked. These people looked serious, and he didn't expect them to believe his story about supernatural occurrences like portals. They wouldn't believe the rest of his story.

"Yes. Shepherd Book knows what you are; now we need to know where you've come from."

"Sunnydale." Spike answered. "Sunnydale, California."

"Earth?" Book spat.

"Yes, Earth. Where the hell do you think?" Spike spat back. He received angry glares. "What the hell is going on? Don't you people have Earth?"

"We have many planets, _Spike_." Wash emphasised the name as he noticed Zoë doubling over slightly in pain. He stepped up to help her. "We live in a universe, not on one planet."

"Right." Spike replied. "Well this Mal guy you're asking about should be back on Earth right about now, and he'll be with the people I left behind."

"What are you talking about?" Simon asked.

"I jumped in the portal to prevent the world being destroyed. I ended up here."

"Wait a second, you... you saved the world?" Jayne asked.

"Yeah. I did it for Buffy and Dawn though, I couldn't fail them. I promised Buffy I'd keep Dawn safe and I had to die to do that. I keep my promises mate, always have."

"You saved the world?" Jayne repeated. Spike's expression was blank. "Are you like a good guy? A superhero or something?"

"Nah mate, just a vampire. Nothing special 'bout me except the love of a lady."

"You're a demon, you can't love anyone." Book snapped.

"So you know your supernatural stuff then." Spike commented. "Nice."

"You're a vampire, and vampires have no heart and no soul. You're a dead creature and that's all you'll ever be."

"Shepherd, that's enough." Inara scolded. She looked to Spike and walked up to him. "Spike, right?" She asked, and he nodded. "You are a demon, no lying about that. And you did not do anything to Mal?" Spike shook his head again. "You swear."

"I swear."

"Right. Is there anything that we need to know about you before we try to access this _Sunnydale_ to get you home and Mal back?"

"No sunlight under any circumstances. Unless because this is another dimension the sun has different effects..."

"Vampires perish in direct sunlight." Book informed them. "Sunlight will kill him."

"Thank you for your valuable information, but I knew that already." Spike snapped. This Shepherd Book was beginning to get on his nerves with all his supernatural smarts.

"But we didn't." Wash said. "Book is only trying to help, and for some reason he doesn't trust you. Should we have a reason not to trust you?"

"You shouldn't no." Spike answered. "I fight on the side of good now, ever since I fell in love with Buffy." He chuckled. "God, how I can't live without that woman. I died to save her, you know? I'm here because of her."

"You're not dead." Simon told him.

"No? I'm a vampire, I'm dead regardless."

"Look, once Kaylee gets the ship back up and running again, we can work out how we're going to get Mal back." Zoë said.

"And how I'm going to get back to Sunnydale." Spike added.

"Yes. But can we get to the infirmary now please. I think I need a doctor."

"The part!" Kaylee could be heard screaming from down the hall. "It's here! Mal got it from somewhere! I can fix the ship!"

"Take it up to the engine room!" Wash shouted back. "Come on, we have to get my wife up there too. Simon, take her other hand."

"Your _wife_? You're _married_?" Spike gasped.

"Yes, is that such a surprise?" Wash snapped.

"No. No surprise."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, don't you have to get your wife to a doctor?" Spike quickly changed the subject back.

"I am the doctor." Simon spoke up.

"Come on; help me get her up there." Spike stepped in and took Zoë's arm, signalling to the doc that everything was under control. He was glad that none of them truly understood what a vampire was because they might not have trusted him so easily if they knew what his true nature was. But in order to get home, he knew that he'd have to be on his best behaviour around these people. He wanted to see Buffy and Dawn, now that he knew he wasn't actually dead.

A/N: Another chapter up. Thanks for the reviews everyone. Hopefully I've pulled in a couple of people who'll return and review all through this story... that'd be nice. Well, on to writing the next chapter...


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Chapters are going to bounce back and forth from _Sunnydale_ to _Serenity_, from Spike to Mal. I figure it's the easiest way to keep track of each character's journey and not just tell one's story and forget the other. I thought it was fair. Anyway, I just want to say now thank you to all the people who have reviewed this story so far. I'm aiming to have at least one of my stories gather over 100 reviews, so hopefully this one will be it. To the people who have reviewed already, I'm glad you all liked it and thank you so much for your suggestions and contributions. Yes, violence will come into the equation soon and although the _Serenity_ crew accepted Spike a little too quickly, I felt as if I just wanted for everyone to be able to figure out the back-stories of Spike and Mal which required a pretty fast acceptance into their new surroundings. I hope that sorts some people out and now on with the story. Thanks again for reading, and I'll be looking for more reviews after this chapter.

A/N: As much as I hate to say this, I probably won't be able to write any more for at least a week or possibly more because I have exams next week which will require most of my attention. I will try to get some writing in and hopefully I can post something next weekend.

_Sunnydale, California..._

Mal had made himself comfortable in the chair as he watched the group of strangers across the room flip through books and gather ingredients off shelves. He was amazed at the shop they ran and how they could get all of these strange items to sell. Who would want them? He just couldn't understand it.

He had worked out who all the people were without being introduced to anyone besides Buffy. She had kindly ushered him back to his chair and spoken to him for a little while about Spike and his world while Willow and the others searched for ways to access _Serenity_.

Buffy was the pretty blonde and brown haired girl who looked like she could still be in high school. Mal guessed that she'd only recently finished, making her very young for the life she appeared to be living.

Then there was Dawn, the youngest one with her long wavy brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She kept shooting Mal glares that said the Spike guy they spoke of earlier meant something to more her than she was letting on.

Giles, the old man who kept removing his glasses and polishing them every ten minutes wasn't so enthralling. Mal soon grew bored of watching him and moved onto Anya and Xander.

The two love-birds sat in the corner. Anya sat on Xander's lap holding a book they were both reading. Mal realised that he could learn a lot from these people, especially Willow and Tara.

Tara was the shy yet feisty blonde who protected Willow when Mal had addressed her rudely earlier. She'd been offended by his comment and had stood up for Willow for a reason Mal soon found out. They were a couple. Tara and Willow. Mal first saw the redhead and thought how sweet she looked, but he blew it all with one comment. Not that he had a chance anyway; he couldn't stay in this world with her, they hardly knew each other and she was gay! Mal was surprised to find a young gay redheaded witch living 500 years before his time. It astounded him that this way of life existed.

Suddenly, after an extended period of time Willow jumped to her feet and surprised everyone. "I've got it!" she cried. "I know how we can get Spike back!"

"You can get me home?" Mal piped up. Willow grinned at him.

"I can." She said proudly.

"Willow that's great." Buffy almost laughed. She could finally get Spike back and tell him that she was grateful for what he did for her and Dawn. She was glad. "What do you have to do?"

"It's simple really." She tried to sound superior. "All I need to do is use one of Giles' books on Black Magic and find the spell to open portals and gateways between different periods in time."

Willow was greeted with looks of mixed emotions: stunned, shocked, worried, happy, concerned.

"Willow, you want to mess with Black Magic?" Buffy asked, scared for her friend's safety when working with such strong and dangerous magic.

"Willow, uh... miss." Mal spoke nervously. "I appreciate you tryin' so hard to get me home, but you're a nice girl. I don't want you to go messing with something dangerous just for me. I know little about magic but I know that Black Magic is dangerous stuff. I'm sure there's another way."

"Thank you for your concern Mal," Willow addressed him by his chosen name. "But really, I can handle this. You guys don't need to worry about me. And Giles will be here to make sure nothing goes wrong, so it should work."

Giles stepped forward. "Willow, this is _not_ a good idea. Malcolm is right, you shouldn't be messing with Black Magic, it's too dangerous."

Willow was hurt. "Giles, I can handle this. I'm telling you now that I can do this; I really think that I can."

"Willow, we're all scared for your safety. I don't think this is such a good idea. There _has_ to be another way to do this." Xander piped up.

"I agree Willow, I'm sorry." Tara added. "We're only thinking of what's best for you." Willow looked hurt, mad and disappointed.

"Guys, I can do harder magic now than when I first started practising and I can do it well. If you believe in me and let me try this, then I promise you that I can make it work. I really can do this, I swear I can. I'm not just a beginner; I know what I'm doing."

"Willow, it's not about your experience. Black Magic is a dangerous field." Giles explained to her.

"But I've been getting better and better all the time with my magic. You all keep telling me how powerful I am, well, let me show you. Let me do this and help get Spike back and send Mal back to where he belongs. Can't you all see that he doesn't belong here?" Mal looked away uneasily. "He doesn't know this world... he's out of place. How long are you going to make him stay in a place he doesn't understand and doesn't know?"

"Willow, this is not about Mal." Buffy began.

"Yes it is." Willow shot back. "I'm doing this for him and for Spike."

"Willow, this is about you."

"No."

"This is about you and your safety. We can't have you working on something dangerous. I won't let you." Willow glared at Buffy.

"_You_ won't _let_ me? Since when is it _your_ choice?"

"Since you're my _friend_." Buffy snapped.

"Well this is not about me, Buffy. This is not about us. This is about Mal and Spike and getting them both home safely. I know that you want Spike back, and I appreciate that you are trying to care for me but I think that this is the only way we can do it. I don't think there's another way to access gateways between times unless you consult books on Black Magic. I'm sorry Buffy, but regardless of what you or anyone else says, I'm doing this. It's the only way."

Buffy sighed. "There's no changing your mind once you've made it up, is there Willow?" She said in defeat, finally agreeing with Willow. "You have to promise me one thing though." Willow fought back a smile of success.

"What?"

"That you'll come back to us."

"Of course I will." Willow cooed. "Buffy, I _can_ do this."

"Willow, Black Magic is a very dangerous thing to be messing with. If even one thing goes wrong during a spell you may _not_ come back to us." Giles chimed in. "Spells like the one you plan on performing require a great level of patience and concentration. If either of those things are broken something terrible might happen."

"Might." Willow replied. "Just give me a chance, all right? I understand that you're trying to be protective but ultimately it's my choice and I say I'm doing it. Are you going to help me?"

"What option do we have?" Buffy answered. "I'll still support you, even if I don't support what you're doing." She smiled weakly at Willow, who returned it.

"Thank you." Willow turned to Giles. "Giles, can you get me the book _Black Magicks IV_ please? The spell is in it." Giles shook his head in fear, but got the book for Willow anyway from up in the loft. He climbed back down the ladder and handed her the book.

As soon as she touched the book she felt the power. Shuddering, she clenched her eyes tightly shut. As she opened them a few seconds later she looked up at Giles.

"Are you all right Willow?"

"I felt the power." She replied.

"Be careful." Giles warned, knowing that at least now she knew the power she was dealing with.

"Thank you." She smiled. "Now, I'm going to need a few things." She placed the book on the table and flipped through it until she found what she needed. _Accessing gateways between time_.

"What do you need Will?" Buffy inquired.

"I'll write down the list of ingredients and if you can get them for me then I'll prepare myself for the spell."

"Willow, be careful." Buffy warned as Giles had earlier.

"Buffy, it's going to work out okay." Willow assured her. She scribbled down some things on a piece of paper and handed it to Buffy. "If you can get these things you'll be helping a lot."

"Just give me a few minutes, and Giles can help be get everything you need." Buffy signalled for Giles to help look for ingredients, and he walked over.

Xander and Anya sat on the steps leading up to the second level of the shop, while Dawn sat on the countertop and watched her sister rush around the store with Giles in toe. Mal remained in his seat to be sure he didn't injure himself further, but behind him in the corner under the loft sat Tara, reading through a magic book. Her silent study went unnoticed and nobody knew that she was secretly trying to find a way to monitor Willow's magical power. If things got too dangerous, she would step in a "de-fuse" Willow, removing all the danger from her. She couldn't have her girl getting hurt by Black Magic.

Buffy and Giles made constant return-trips to the table in the centre of the room and placed ingredients on the table. Willow had set up a small cauldron to mix the ingredients, and had put the CLOSED sign up in the window at the front of the store.

"That's everything." Buffy stated as she placed a jar on the table besides piles of other odd-looking things.

"Thanks Buffy." Willow said as she began adding things to her cauldron. "Time to get started."

A/N: This is probably not the best place to stop this chapter but I just felt as though I would write too much for the spell so I left it. Next chapter will be back with Spike's side of the story, so the chapter after that will return to the spell. Sorry to anyone who is unhappy with that setup but I thought it was best. Reviews for this chapter...?


	5. Chapter 5

_Serenity..._

Spike, Zoë, Wash, Kaylee, Jayne, Simon and River were squashed into _Serenity_'s cockpit, with Wash flying. He was appointed captain of the ship while Mal was gone. Spike hung back against the doorway as the others gathered round and talked privately about what they'd do with him.

"I say we throw him out on the next planet and start looking for Mal." Jayne suggested. Spike's jaw dropped as he overheard the conversation with his enhanced hearing.

"Hey! I don't like that idea." Everyone spun around to look at him except for Wash who kept flying _Serenity_. "I don't wanna be thrown out on some random planet. It's just too weird; back in _my_ universe there is only one planet we can live on. I don't like the idea of going out there, I'd rather get home."

"I thought you said you died where you came from, for somebody you loved." Jayne stated. "That means that technically, you have no home to go back to."

"I did die. Or at least I thought I did. Now I know that I'm in another dimension instead, and that your friend Mal is where I'm supposed to be. If you want him back, you're gonna need me."

"Well then Spike, what can you do to help us get you both back?" Zoë asked, a little impatiently. Simon had treated her wound, and she was recovering slowly as the group spoke of their doubts about Spike.

"Haven't a clue." Spike answered quickly and swiftly.

"Well geez, you're helpful ain't you?" Kaylee said sarcastically.

"My friends back home are sure to be working on some way to get me home and your buddy Mal back here. I'm _sure_ of it."

"How sure?" Wash demanded, not turning around to face Spike.

"Very sure. Trust me."

"That's a little difficult, seeing as how we don't even know if we should believe you to begin with." Book stepped in. "You say you come from another dimension, yes?"

"Yes." Spike replied.

"How did you get here?"

"Through a portal."

"And this _portal_, where did it appear?"

"In some loading bay or hanger somewhere on the ship. I was trying to get back there when you all came at me."

"Came at you?"

"Yeah. On one side of the ship a bunch of you came through a door then I turned around and there were more of you. I was trying to get out; I saw some ships flying around from in the cockpit and thought that maybe I wasn't alone anymore."

"Those ships were us returning to _Serenity_." Zoë informed Spike.

"Well Spike, I'll let you know now that I think your story seems to have some holes in it. But there's not enough for me to totally doubt you." Book explained to Spike.

"Holes? What kind of holes? I told you exactly what happened!"

"How was it that you were able to navigate your way through the ship so easily? Through one more doorway you would have found the room you described. How is it that you knew exactly where to go?"

"I don't know, I just kept running until I found somebody. You people."

"Also, you say you are a vampire."

"I am. Big deal."

"Yet you say you love a woman back where you came from."

"Yes, Buffy. The woman drives me crazy, but I love her anyway. I can't live without her."

"Although, the most perplexing part of this story is the fact that you say you died. How exactly does that work? You came through a portal – _alive_ – yet you say you are dead. Please explain?"

All eyes were on Spike as he thought of what to say. Should he tell them the truth? Should he tell them all about back home where he sacrificed himself to save Buffy and Dawn and the rest of the world after Glory opened all the gateways into every dimension that ever existed? He realised now that he had not died but been transported through the glamour into this dimension. Everything made sense now, but he had to explain it to the space-goers gawking at him.

"Okay, where do I begin?" Spike asked himself. "Buffy is what's known as a Slayer." He started. "About a year ago some monks made her a sister out of something called The Key. They called her Dawn."

"What's The Key?" Zoë asked.

"Something that opens the gateways between different dimensions. My world would have been destroyed except that I figured out what I needed to do to close the gateways; close the portal that ended up sending me here."

"What did you do?" Zoë spoke again.

"Well, some bitchy blonde ex-God named Glory decided she wanted to get home to another dimension and came looking for The Key. Damn-near killed me trying to beat information out of me, but I wouldn't crack because I made a promise to Buffy that I'd keep Dawn safe no matter what. I wasn't about to break a promise to the woman I love just to avoid being beaten to death."

"So you have courage." Book commented dryly. "But why is it that you care so much?"

"I don't bloody know!" Spike cried. "I just love her is all. I can't give you an explanation as to why, as a vampire, I can love somebody. I don't have a soul, I don't have a heart and I don't really have anything to offer her but that doesn't stop me from feeling his way."

Inara approached Spike. "You truly are different from all the creatures I have ever heard of. I know vaguely of references made to vampires, but I never knew that one could be as loving towards another as you. You think that you've died for this woman, and that doesn't bother you." She smiled. "I don't care what anybody else says, I think you're special. Something in you makes you different; makes you better. A vampire in love, who will do anything for the woman he cares for. It's rather poetic, and touching. Even if you are a terrible creature in both of our universes, your nature directs you to act otherwise."

"Um... yeah." Spike was a little lost for words, and confused as to whether he had just been insulted or complimented. "That's really deep."

"I'm sorry if I've put you off; I just felt it needed to be said. Shepherd Book is being a little rash with you."

"Well, it's to be expected. I am a vampire, remember?" The comment sparked an idea in Inara's mind. _A vampire's face changes when they morph from human to the dark creature inside them_. She had read it in a book when she was younger; ancient fairytales and myths of creatures said to exist back on Earth when the planet was still able to support human life.

"What does your face look like as a vampire?" Inara inquired, raising a hand to the side of Spike's face and gazing into his eyes with curiosity and wonder. He stepped back.

"You all probably don't want to see my face like that. It might put you off helping me."

"Don't be afraid, Spike, I trust you." She looked over her shoulder at the others, then back to Spike. "I'll make them trust you."

"Okay, but I want you to know I won't hurt any of you. I need your help to get back, so I won't do anything to jeopardise that."

"Okay. I just... I want to see the face. What is it that makes you such a fearsome creature, because I am yet to see proof of this nature?"

Spike sighed. "All right." His face morphed, his fangs dropped and his eyes glowed yellow. "Here's the face you wanted to see."

Inara took several steps back, in shock. The others gasped and stared in horror. They had seen Reavers, but this was just as scary. It was possibly even scarier. As the _Serenity_ crew stared their eyes traced the sections of Spike's face. The puffy eyes with golden gleaming centres; the bumpy forehead and rigid brow; the sharp and pointy drop-down fangs. River cowered behind her brother.

"Not of this world..." She mumbled again. Simon spun around, pulled her head in to rest on his shoulder and held her close.

"It's okay River. He's not going to hurt you."

Spike morphed back. "I'm sorry." He apologised. "I told you that it would make you trust me even less that you do already. I should've never..."

"Spike, don't worry about it." Inara interrupted him. "We have seen Reavers, and they are much worse. You... are just an unexpected creature that has been transported here from somewhere else. I feel it in me that I have to help you, and hopefully the others will as well."

"Inara, are you sure we should jump into this so quickly? Trusting him and all? I don't think Mal would go into things this easily or without question." Wash asked.

"There have been plenty of questions about his credibility and I have to say that I believe every word he has said. He has not hidden who he is, why he's here or anything else for that matter. He has been honest with us because he wants nothing more than to get home." She turned to Spike. "Right?'

"Right." Spike answered after a second of hesitation. He hoped they wouldn't question it.

"Right." Inara repeated his answer again to the crew. "So are we all okay with this now? With Spike?"

There was a general nod but no real sounds of acknowledgement came from anyone's mouth.

"I guess we have no choice but to trust you then Spike." Book spoke first. "But you didn't finish telling us, what exactly did you do to save your world? How did you die? And why?"

Spike sighed. "Oh yeah. Well as I said, Glory was trying to open the gateway between dimensions and she needed The Key to do it. Dawn." Spike's story had picked up an audience again, and they had almost completely ignored the fact that they had all just seen the true beast in Spike. "She discovered Dawn was The Key and although Buffy and I tried to protect her, Glory kidnapped her. She got one of her minions to cut Dawn open, and her blood opened the gateway between the different dimensions. My world was starting to fall apart as things from other dimensions crossed over, when I realised that if blood opened the gateway and that blood would close it. So I did the only thing I could; I jumped off the tower into the swirling portal and used my blood to close the gateway. Now I'm here."

"So that's why you thought you died." Book joined the dots. "You jumped into an unknown 'portal' to spill your own blood to save your world. You ended up here and thought that you were dead."

"Exactly." Spike concluded.

"Extraordinary." Book mused. "Spike, you are most likely to be one of the first cross-dimension travellers our people have ever heard of. It's amazing that in a universe not that much different to ours there is a world with creatures like you, and ex-Gods who try to... to... destroy the world?"

"Yeah. Buffy killed the bitch. We had a little help from the Scoobies, distracting Glory's minions."

"_Scoobies_?" Kayla inquired. "What are the Scoobies?

"The Scoobies are Buffy's friends. You know, Scoobies as in Scooby-d..." He rolled his eyes. "Oh, never mind."

A/N: Another chapter up. Review please and I'll try and get the next chapter written with Mal and with Willow's spell. I probably shouldn't have ended it here but I felt that I needed to stop writing before it just dragged on unnecessarily.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken so long to update, I got stuck for ideas. Time management was also a problem, but I got around it eventually. Here's the next chapter.

_Sunnydale, California..._

Buffy and Giles had located the necessary ingredients for Willow to perform her spell, Mal was growing impatient waiting and the others had made themselves comfortable as they grew bored of watching Willow meditate. Giles stood beside her as she sat calmly on top of the table.

"Maintain steady breathing." He said softly, directing her. "Concentrate."

"Concentrating... breathing..." She whispered in response.

"Think of a field full of tall grass in the outback. Rising hills... dried-up river beds..." He stepped back, removing himself from her immediate circle of focus. "... Picture a lion bounding towards an antelope. Watch as it catches its prey."

Willow's eyes flew open suddenly and she gasped as she fell sideways off the table. The others jumped up quickly, rushing to see what happened. Willow looked up at Giles. "I'm not ready yet, am I?" She asked.

"No, not yet. When you can picture the scene in your head and be perfectly calm, then you will be ready." Buffy, Dawn, Tara, Xander and Anya returned to their seats, realising there was no breakthrough yet. That meant there was no spell going to be cast until Willow was able to concentrate hard enough.

"Can I try again?"

"Yes, but you must mediate again first to regain your focus. This will take some time Willow, so if you want to do this then you must be patient. You will also need patience when you perform the spell, so it's perfect practise." Giles informed her.

"I understand. I want to do this, and it doesn't matter how long it takes for me to get ready I'm going to do it." She smiled at Mal who smiled back, before resuming her position on the table.

"Let's try this again." Giles stepped up to her and waited until she had closed her eyes and sat completely still. "Maintain steady breathing." He instructed. "Concentrate."

_Serenity..._

While gathered in the cockpit of _Serenity_, the crew watched Spike as he sat picking the black nail-polish off his fingernails.

"You are quite strange." Inara commented. Spike looked up and stopped picking. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Like what?"

"Black clothes. Leather."

"I like wearing black." Spike protested. "It's very slimming."

"I didn't mean to offend you, I just meant that... well, nobody around here wears those sorts of clothes."

"I'm not _from_ around here, remember?" Spike replied. He realised that he was getting impatient with these people and that he was bored of flying around the nothingness of space. He stared into Inara's eyes apologetically. "Sorry. I just _really_ don't want to be here."

"I understand."

"I don't belong here, and your friend Mal doesn't belong back where I come from." He paused and began talking to himself. "This should be easy to fix, or easy enough for Buffy. How come they haven't done anything yet?" The others just stared.

"Spike, are you hungry?" Kaylee asked, changing the subject and trying to lighten up the situation.

"Why don't you come to the kitchen with us and we can get you something to eat." Inara agreed. "It will help to pass the time until either your friends or we can figure out how to fix this mess." Inara quickly got to her feet and approached Spike. She took his hand and led him out of the room, as Kaylee followed.

"I don't like him." Jayne whispered harshly to Wash once Spike had left the room. Unfortunately for him, he spoke too loud and Spike heard. He scowled as he was led away.

"I'm not sure I want anything to eat." Spike spoke up as they entered the kitchen.

"Oh come on, you haven't eaten a thing since you came here." Kaylee laughed.

"I don't normally eat." Spike replied. "Much."

"Oh right. Vampire." Inara remembered. "You're not going to... drink our blood, are you?" It was Spike's turn to laugh.

"No. You're trying to help me get home. I appreciate that and I'm not going to bite you if you try to help me."

"All right. Good then." Kaylee stammered.

"Are you afraid of me?" Spike asked her.

"Me? No." She glanced away nervously.

"Hey, I promise I won't hurt you. I promise." Spike smiled at her as her eyes met his. She nodded in acceptance. "Is there anywhere I can sleep?"

"Oh, of course. Right this way." Inara led Spike to her shuttle. "You can sleep in my shuttle. I'm sure you'll be very comfortable."

She opened the door for Spike and he gaped in amazement at how romantic the shuttle's bedroom seemed.

"It's... very nice." He commented, feeling a little uneasy.

"Just kick your shoes off and make yourself at home." She told him, smiling. He forced a smile and began removing his boots.

"Thanks."

"I'll bring you some food later, okay? You must want _something_."

"Yeah, maybe later though. I don't want to seem like I'm in your way so I'll just sleep in here and I'll come out later when hopefully Buffy has come close to figuring out a way to fix all this."

"How will we know when your friend Buffy has come up with a plan?" Inara inquired.

"I won't be here anymore, and your buddy Mal _will_ be." Spike answered simply. Inara nodded and turned to leave.

"I'll be back in a few hours to see if you want anything." Inara pointed to a door across the room. "Just through that door is the cockpit of the shuttle. There's a radio that patches through to the main cockpit of _Serenity_. If you have any problems or can't remember how to get back to us, just radio through."

"All right. Thanks again." Spike felt kind of stupid saying 'sorry' and 'thank you' all the time, but he wanted to be in the good-books with these guys. He didn't know them, and they didn't know him. The best he could do was behave.

Back in the main cockpit, Inara and Kaylee returned just as Wash, Jayne and Book had failed in trying to convince Zoë not to trust Spike.

"Why the awkward silence?" Inara asked as she and Kaylee wandered in.

"Nothing." Jayne answered quickly as Wash and Zoë exchanged frustrated glances. "Where's the vampire?"

"Sleeping. He wasn't hungry so I let him rest in my shuttle." She replied. Jayne saw an opportunity. He leant close to Shepherd Book and spoke while Inara was paying attention to Zoë as she explained that they were going to land on the next planet they reached.

"How do you kill a vampire, Shepherd?"

A/N: I probably should write more for this chapter, but for the moment this will do. Next chapter is going to start with the conversation between Jayne, Wash, Zoë and Shepherd Book explaining why Jayne wants to kill Spike immediately. Then I'll head back over to the guys in Sunnydale. I left Willow meditating because she won't be ready for a spell from the Black Magicks books until she's prepared herself. That was what the meditating was for, if anyone didn't figure it out.


End file.
